Grand Designs Best Eco House Finalist 2010
Timber frame design, engineering and manufacture by English Brothers Ltd
Architectural design by Jane Duncan Associates
Timber frame design, engineering and manufacture by English Brothers Ltd
Architectural design by Jane Duncan Associates
This contemporary home is the work of Jane Duncan Associates. This award-winning architectural practice appointed English Brothers Limited to design, engineer and manufacture a bespoke timber frame to work with a product called 'Hemcrete'.
Hemcrete is unique in that it is a better-than-carbon-zero building material. Its main constituents are hemp and lime, and when combined with timber frame construction becomes perhaps the most environmentally conscious method of construction used in the UK today.
English Brothers was the first company in the UK to design and engineer a timber frame home using Hemcrete for the self-build market and we are currently working on others around the UK.
Hemcrete is unique in that it is a better-than-carbon-zero building material. Its main constituents are hemp and lime, and when combined with timber frame construction becomes perhaps the most environmentally conscious method of construction used in the UK today.
English Brothers was the first company in the UK to design and engineer a timber frame home using Hemcrete for the self-build market and we are currently working on others around the UK.
The 'naked' timber frame designed specifically to work with Hemcrete - requiring a new approach to timber frame design and engineering.
Hemcrete has been applied to the main elevation and is beginning to dry out.
Here you can see the timber frame in relation to the Hemcrete. This photograph also shows how the temporary shuttering is used to cast the Hemcrete around the timber frame. Note that the shuttering system used here can be used time and time again, hence a more sustainable approach than using throw-away materials.
The completed home - a stunning example of contemporary architecture and modern methods of construction.
Western Red Cedar timber boarding was used as this type of timber requires no additional treatment. The natural oils and resins help to protect it against rot and infestation, therefore a more environmentally aware option than chemically treated timber.
